紧咬不放
jǐn​yǎo​bù​fàng

persistent

紧 jǐn tense Simplified

Simplified form of 緊. Phonosemantic compound. 臤 represents the sound, while 糸 represents the meaning.

Components

𰀡
𰀡 Sound component
qiān to gouge out an eye
Change in sound
糸
糸 Meaning component
mì, sī silk

Depicts a thread being tightened.

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

咬 yǎo bite

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 交 represents the sound.

Components

口
口 Meaning component
kǒu, kou mouth
交
交 Sound component
jiāo to cross, to mix

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangkreːw
ŋɡreːwʔ
qreːw
Unicodegǎu

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

不 bù, bu no

Original meaning: sepals

Pictograph of sepals of a flower. The modern meaning "no" is a phonetic loan.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 5 verified)

否杯钚罘盃

Simplified (4)

还环怀坏

Meaning (1 of 4 verified)

否歪甭孬

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartpjuwpə not
pjuwpə 不律 writing brush (pron. in Wú 吳 ap. Shuōwén; E. Hàn)

說文解字

《說文》：“不，鳥飛上翔不下來也。从一，一猶天也。象形。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

放 fàng put

Phonosemantic compound. 攵 represents the meaning and 方 represents the sound.

Components

方
方 Sound component
fāng, fang square
攵
攵 Meaning component
pū tap

攵 is a component form of 攴. Depicts a hand.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartpjangXpaŋʔ imitate
pjangHpaŋ-s release; let go

說文解字

《說文》：“放，逐也。从攴，方聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

緊 jǐn tense Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 臤 represents the sound, while 糸 represents the meaning.

Components

臤
臤 Sound component
to gouge out an eye
Change in sound
糸
糸 Meaning component
mì, sī silk

Depicts a thread being tightened.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkjinXC.qi[n]ʔ (I! no palatalization)tight

說文解字

《說文》：“緊，纏絲急也。从臤，从絲省。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)